


Light Against Shadows of the Past

by xHauntedAngel



Category: Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
Genre: F/M, She stabs him before anything happens, The noncon is briefly mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:09:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHauntedAngel/pseuds/xHauntedAngel
Summary: Karou has a nightmare.





	Light Against Shadows of the Past

It was the middle of the night and Akiva was still awake. He could not sleep, his happiness kept him from rest. Everytime his eyes landed on Karou’s sleeping form an electric shock went through him. She was so beautiful when she slept, so relaxed. As he stared, he started to reflect on the things that landed him here, next to his sleeping love. 

So obviously had the universe conspired them to be here, as if it had wanted nothing more than the two of them together. It’s like every part of them fit together, a perfect patch. His mind started to drift, on the cusp of sleep when Karou started to stir. First she pinched her eyes tighter and started to mumble something out quietly. She started to move lightly but soon it turned into thrashing against AKiva and the sheets. Startled Akiva sat up and started to shake her awake. “Karou, hey, wake up. Karou.” 

With a startled gasp she sat up, almost hitting Akiva’s head with her own. “Stop,” she breathed as she blinked her eyes open. They soon started to brim with tears. Akiva rushed forward to pull her to his chest and comfort her crying form. 

“Hey it’s okay, you’re alright. Just breathe.” Karou tried to follow his instructions but they came out as harsh gasps instead. Tears streamed down her face and for a while she let Akiva hold her while she cried. After a while the tears started to slow and her breathing evened out. They sat together rocking, unwilling to separate as Akiva wiped Karou’s tears away. Once she had calmed a little she looked bashfully up at AKiva while he looked startled back at her. 

She gently touched his cheek which he leaned intp, “I’m sorry for waking you.” Akiva was already shaking his head. 

“It’s alright, I wasn’t asleep anyway.” To that Karou cocked her head to the side in worry. He touched her eyebrow crease and asked, “nightmare?” She looked down blushing and nodded once. “Do you want to talk about it? I always found it to help Lariz.” 

Karou continued to look at the bed when she answered, “I was dreaming about my time with the rebels, when we were in the human world. Just the terror and the smell of death that I can still smell sometimes. And-” she cut off with a small whine.   
“And what?” AKiva asked softly. 

“And Thiago,” she responded in a small whisper. Akiva drew her closer to his chest protectively at the name. He knew something had happened in that time- he saw the bruises. He did not know exactly what had happened but he feared the worst. Though he would never make Karou talk about it if she did not want to. 

His grip did not lessen as he said, “you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. She smiled a grateful, watery smile and nodded sadly. 

“I don’t want to relive the past but I also need you to know the truth. It’s important you know what really happened.” Akiva looked into Karou’s mploring eyes and nodded. He understood the need to justify things, to set them straight. “When we were at the Kasbah things were desperate. It was me against him, and he had an entire army behind him, an entire people. And I was alone with my own people, completely helpless. But I persevered, doing what I had to until I didn’t have to anymore- because of you. You brought the gift of Issa to me.” Se looked up at him again with wondering eyes. As if she were the winner of some grand prize rather than the other way around. 

Akiva smiled and kissed the top of her blue hair. “But after that I was able to gain some footing in the army,” she continued. “Some sided with me against him, until later when he started to slit their throats and threw their bodies into the pit.” Akiva remembered the pit well and the smell that accompanied it. “I tried to stop him but I was too late and the others had left. So there he had sent away or killed all those I called an ally, standing above the pit. I came to stop him but he sent the others away. That’s when he tried to...force himself onto me. But I fought with everything I had. I stabbed him in the neck and there was blood-so much blood” Karou started to pale as she finished her story, visibly shaken from her memories. 

She drew in a breath and continued. “ I stabbed him before anything could happen and that’s when Ziri wore the wolf’s skin instead.” Once she was finished she looked up to see AKiva’s horrified expression. But the main emotion flitting through across his face was still concern, which helped push Karou’s lingerie terror away. 

Akiva then buried his face in her hair and whispered hoarsely, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I ever left you alone with him. I wish I-” 

“Shhh, it’s okay my love. I’m here. We’re here. Together.” She whispered the last part as if it were a shared secret. He nodded and touched her brow to his. 

“So that is what you were dreaming of then.” She nodded her head mutley against his. “I will never leave you alone again. I swear it.” 

She gave a small laugh, forever thankful for she had Akiva’s light to harbor her from the darkness. Her own darkness. She touched her lips to his and sighed lightly. “I think we should try to get some sleep.” Akiva nodded and settled down on his back allowing Karou to borrow into his side. She kissed his neck and said, “thank you my angel” before drifting off once again. Akiva’s thoughts troubled him but when he saw how peacefully she slept he couldn't help but relax. 

“Sleep now my love. And always remember, that even in your dreams, I love you.” With a kiss on her forehead Akiva finally started to drift asleep. And Karou found even in her dreams she felt the light of Akiva’s love forever chasing away the shadows of her past.


End file.
